At a time in society when connection appears to be at its most prominent, yet those within are more stranded than ever before, the art being produced must reflect reality rather than possibility. And with their fourth full-length offering, Holding Absence have made something that speaks directly to the seemingly universal experience of loneliness in 2026.

Serving as a reference, and in many ways an update on the state of things, to Blur’s 1993 album ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’, ‘Modern Life Is Lonely’ strives to capture the essence of what it means to be in a moment in time that is as complex as it is heart-wrenching captive.
An introspective look at the assets and practices that have become part of the external every day, in some cases against our will or under our noses, that perfectly distils how it feels to be so connected yet so desolate. Less timeless and more timely, it is a record that strives to offer up solace as much as document how sensationally bizarre life is right now.

Rather than stepping on the well-worn path of yesterday, vocalist Lucas Woodland, guitarist Scott Carey and bassist Benjamin Elliot have strived to showcase just how vibrant, vast and viscerally otherworldly they could be. With Daniel Braunstein on production duties, serving as the first British band he has worked with (and possibly “lightest” too), and being the longest that the band have worked on a record in their whole career - two and a half years of solid writing, demoing and crafting - it has allowed the trio the chance to really pinpoint every aspect of what it means to exist at this pivotal moment in history, and then some.

Pulling influence from the chaotic boldness of hyperpop and ethereal tranquillity of lo-fi whilst still keeping plenty of post-hardcore grit at their heart, the result is as exploratory as it is emphatic. Expanding on everything they once were in a manner that is as undeniable as it is unstoppable. Documenting the state of things as it is serving as a benchmark for the future done in a beautiful, brutal and boundless way that is not to be taken lightly.

And at a time when alternative music is being consumed and manipulated by technology, remembering what it means to dig deeper into the unknown has never been more crucial.